The Weekend View

The South African government will hold high level talks this weekend on how to respond to the new Coronavirus variant. There are already concerns of a possible national lockdown -- and how this could have a devastating impact on local and international travel as well as tourism. The United Kingdom has already imposed a travel ban on visitors from six southern African countries, including South Africa. Meanwhile,  The South African Revenue Service (Sars) has extended the filing season deadline for non-provisional individual taxpayers from Tuesday until 2 December 2021. Sars says they was pleased with the overwhelming response from taxpayers who had submitted personal income tax returns since July and are acutely aware of systemic issues, as well as the impact of load shedding on taxpayers, which may have made it difficult for taxpayers to file returns

There has been an increase of over a thousand murders in South Africa between July and September this year, compared to the same period last year. This is an increase of just pover 20 percent. These figures were revealed during the release of the second quarter crime statistics, to members of parliament's Police Portfolio Committee. So has attempted murder, rape, and assault with the intent to cause grievous bodily harm

World soccer governing body FIFA has confirmed that it will review South Africa's appeal for a replay with Ghana in World Cup qualifying. The South African Football Association has demanded an investigation after Bafana Bafana lost one-nil in a qualifier in a controversial fashion against Ghana, prompting SAFA officials to suspect the involvement of match-fixing. Egypt, Algeria, Cameroon and other teams in Africa have all got their place in the World Cup playoffs in March. But Ghana's presence in the final round of 10 World cup hopefuls from Africa.... remains uncertain. The Ghana Football Association has confirmed via statement that they will subject themselves to the FIFA process

November is celebrated globally as Disability Awareness Month. It is estimated that 10% of the global population live with disabilities. While their able-bodied peers enjoy access to quality education and employment opportunities, people with disabilities receive less support and are often excluded from schooling, employment and broader society. The Deputy Director and Head of Universal Accessibility and Disability Services at Nelson Mandela University, Nosiphiwo Delubom is of the view that the Department of Basic Education does little to ensure that learners with invisible disabilities are identified, assessed and supported. She says It is concerning that learners who show signs of learning disabilities, aren't being identified in primary and high school, especially those in townships and rural areas. Delubom further says they are often pushed through to the next grade, then struggle to deal with challenges and reach their goals in the transition to tertiary education.

Old flames and new faves".  #HappinessEverAfter brings together Khanyi Mbau, Renate Stuurman and Nambitha Ben-Mazwi for this tale of sisterhood, love and self-discovery. Released on Netflix this past Wednesday November 10th, the sequel to "Happiness is a Four-Letter Word" finds Zaza, Princess and Zim living new chapters of their lives amid loss, family grudges and new love. If you have not seen it yet, here is a little taste of what to expect....

The Government Employee Pension Fund has announced that it has reached a market value of just over R2 Trillion since the start of the current 10 year cycle. The fund says last year alone its investments increased by R451 Billion amidst the economic turmoil caused by Covid. The fund has in the past been engulfed by reports of corruption due to poor oversight and monitoring.

Newly crowned Miss South Africa Lalela Mswane will represent South Africa in the Miss Universe pageant in Israel despite backlash from civil society groups. Calls are mounting for the beauty to pull out of the event because it is occurring in a country that has been accused of apartheid-like human rights crimes against the Palestinian people.

A number of countries in the continent are opting to reserve certain jobs and businesses for the locals. One of the most protectionist countries in the region used to be Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe had a 51% local ownership for all businesses. However, many Zimbabweans feels that the poor perfoming economy of their country is because of the protectionist policies. Meanwhile, South Africa is following suite to pursue protectionist policies like Botswana and Zimbabwe. The Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry highlighted some of the businesses that must be protected, include wholesale retail and filling stations. The protected list has 21 business crafts, ranging from bread and confectionery to furniture.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has paid tribute to the last apartheid era President, F.W De Klerk - hailing him for his contribution to South Africa's transition into a democratic state. De Klerk died of cancer at his Fresnaye home, in Cape Town yesterday morning. He was 85. Ramaphosa was speaking outside Parliament after Finance Minister, Enoch Godongwana's mid term budget speech. He has sent condolences to the De Klerk family and says Government is willing to assist the family.

You have to have long-term and quick and short-term solutions at the same time". That was one of the key takeaways in a discussion with an international energy policy advisor on the current power crisis gripping the country. Ignacio Fernandez is a senior advisor at the primary electricity supply company in south California - the most populous state in the United States and by itself, the world's fifth largest economy. The state last year experienced rolling blackouts while Fernandez also worked in Chile's Ministry of Energy during that country's energy crisis in 2008. In conversation with the SABC's Sherwin Bryce-Pease, he makes a number of recommendations that includes a dramatic shift from coal over the longer-term.